The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-12-15

anu GUe= 1ue1 was II 1e00A neeaA SASPo
into Fer face, and Nicholas perceived it.
..ssEes anything com at tharef" he asked,
In an awe struck tone. Gees she diedt''
s. ssNo, my poor fellow" answered Mrs.
Loring, laying her delicate white hand
kindly on his big red one. "Sit down a
minute, and try to be brave and strong,
for ! have something, very hard to tell
Nicholas obeyed, his weather beaten
cheeks blancMng under the brown, and
his honest blue eyes holding so much
wondering distress in them that Mrs.
Loring's task became indeed hard.
. sTt is better to know the worst than to
wait,n she said. ssTilda has been very
cruel and untruthful to you, and she is
married to an''- A heavy groan ar
rested her words. She had spoken with
averted eyes, shrinking from gazing upon
the pain she was giving. Now she saw
that he had sunk forward in limp heap,
head and shoulders buried in his arms
upon the table. Perfect silence followed
the groan, and Mrs. Loring respected it;
but as minutes passed, and he neither
moved nor made sound, she spoke to
him. Receiving no answer, she touched
his shoulder; he did not move. Then she
knew the big man had tainted. There was
ice water in the dining room, and quickly
getting glass, she turned his head so as
to bring the face outward, and dashed a
little in it. The effect was immediate. He
opened his eyes and lifted his head. For
8 moment he was quite dazed; then all
came back to him, and he staggered to his
feet.
sIwill go,n he said, heavily, half feel
ing, half looking about him for his hat.
ssNo, indeed, my poor fellow!" ex-
claimed Mrs. Loring, "not yet. You must
let me warm you some tea before you go
out; r am afraid you are not we'll" And
she motioned him to sit down. Then he
saw the splash of water on the table and
the front of her dress (for she had spilled
it in running), and putting his hand to his
shirt collar felt it there. he thought an
instant and the meaning came to him.
ssI hey mex trooble,n he said, humbly;
"I hev trayyel SO far, an I hev sometime
not eat mush, an mar heart dey's gone"
and his voice broke.
Mrs. Loring was putting the tea on the
stove as he spoke. After stirring the fire
she sat down by him. II am sorry for
you, she said, earnestly. 81 wish could
help you bear your trouble, but I am
afraid nobody can; but Tida has been
wicked and tickle, and you must try to
forget her."
Nicholas WINGED; he could not hear the
rosy little woman that had SO long been
dear to him harshly spoken of even now.
sEf you please, Meesis Lo,ing, mebbe
some mar letters been los'. Mebbe see
tink forgat hare, de vway SO lots odder
mans does.''
Mrs. Loring thought indignation would
be good tonic, and replied: ''No; she
received every one of your letters-one
every two weeks till she was married, and
since, for what know. But she said she
couldn't wait for q man that loved his
father and mother more than her."
The diversion was partly successful.
"Ah, mar poor ole moder!'' he exclaimed,
the blood mounting to his face, I'm
breeng hare fom all whut de tings see
know, an fom uvrytings see love, for
Tilda. An We leev mar fader in deys
grave fen deys Likkista [cofinl flowers is
not dead, for Tlda! All, see never love
meln
ssNo," said Mrs. Loring, "I'm afraid
she never knew what true love was. And
your father is dead? Tell me about ii. ."
: sTank you," he said. "Dey's one
mont sence he die. He been seek uver
sence fen dat time dey sem for me. Dey's
par'l'sis he hev. He kenenty walk, he
kenenty do noting wild hees hands, he
kenenty eat heself, an all whut tings he
knows ees fen he's hungry an he's beeg
as me, an mar moder kenenty leeft em,
so got to stay. Den dat bank fare / hev
all money whut hev save dey break, an
I got no money; an kenenty work mush
fen my fader seek, an fen he die we hev
debt an trooble togedder. We hey
small lands, an tale mar moder We sell
uvryting an com to America. SEQ cry
an cry; but tell see hev promise, an I
love Tilda, an see hev ywated longer
time, so mar moder com. Fen so hev
sell all an, pay de debts We heycnty 1nush,
an fen We got teekets on do steamer an
de cars We got so lettle lef' dat all de way
COMM We kenent eat mush-so I am o
schild yust now"
you are a man-every inch-and @
good man, exclaimed Mrs. Loring, with
her eyes full Of tears; ''and girl like
Tilds don't deserve you. Tell me where
your good old mother is, and I will go to
see her tomorrow. You are sober and
Industrious, and you will soon have plenty
Of work, and till you get it you must let
Us help you. You can pay back every
cent we lend you with interest, if you
want to- she added. 'tAnd now drink
some tea and eat something AS she
spoke she set the tea and some bread and
butter and meat on the table; then, with
an ssI'n be back directly" she disap-
peared, and busted herself in the store
room arranging package of tea and sugar
and other little things that would be ap-
preciated by an old woman. When she
thought he had had time to finish his sup
per she returned. 'sTake these to your
mother" she said. Gan old person needs
little things that younger people can get
along without, and it's.too late now to get
anything; the stores will all be shut"
AS fine an instinct as Mrs. Loring's own
helped Nicholas to accept the gift and the
kindly ruse together, saying, simply, as he
rose to go: "Dey's way kind, Meesis
Lo'ing; see tank you way mush, an
tank you for all whut de tings you do for
me. I got not SO much trooble fen got
you Kindness"
The next day Mrs. Loring fulfilled her
promise of calling upon old Mrs. Jansen,
and i. Iced kept them both upon her mind
until Nicholas found steady work and
they were comfortably settled. Indeed
she never quite lost sight of them until
they left the city to live elsewhere five
years later, for the old lady would come
every month or two to pay her respects,
and was employed by Mrs. Loring to knit
mittens, etc, for the children, and some
times on Sunday she met the pair Oh their
way to church or walking in the after
noon, Nicholas always with his old
mother on his arm. Never once did she
see q younger woman with him.
But she did not see Tilda for over three
years from the day she left her and sup